Poison Princess

De: Kresley Cole

Narrado por: Emma Galvin, Keith Nobbs

A teen is plagued with visions of a terrible future in the first book in the post-apocalyptic The Arcana Chronicles by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole—filled with riveting action, the dark mysticism of Tarot cards, and breathtaking romance.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life—until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally trust Jack. If he ever cast that seductive smile her way, how could she possibly resist him?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…

I'm OBSESSED!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Poison Princess?

The ending! It was insane!

Any additional comments?

I’m obsessed with Poison Princess. Really…no lie! I’m totally and completely obsessed. Who would have thought that someone would take the 22 trump cards from The Major Arcana Tarot deck, create characters from them, and then write a totally awesome book? There are so many things that make this book fan-friggin-tastic, and I’ll do my best to tell you why without revealing spoilers.

The whole story was very well done. It starts out in the point of view of this obviously psychotic and creepy dude who has just lured a girl into his home, and that had me terrified of what might happen next. But you don’t get to find out what happens next until quite a bit later because the next scene is in the point of view of the popular girl at school, Evie, who is returning after the normal school summer break. Except Evie’s summer break (little do her friends know) was anything but normal…she spent her summer in a mental institution and has no doubt in her mind that she’s truly insane. But is she really? It’s when the apocalypse happens that she realizes that she might not be so crazy after all.

One of the things that makes this book so phenomenal is the characters. And, even though I can’t say which character I like best because I have so many favorites, each one made me want to learn more about the characters of the tarot. So it’s pretty cool that The Arcana Chronicles website shows all the trump cards and the story character associated with each card. If you want to head on over to The Arcana Chronicles website, go to Fun Stuff and just click on a trump card to flip it over to see if Kresley Cole’s introduced that card in her series. Oh, one last thing! I do want to especially mention one character…Jack Deveaux! Boy is he drool-worthy but, at the same time, what a complete jerk!

There’s action, heartbreak, and romance in Poison Princess…and more than enough complications throughout the last half of the book to make the story move really fast. And then the end is so unbelievably well done! It ties everything up but, at the same time, it leaves you suspended with a phenomenal cliffhanger. It was awesome! This is a must read…like right now. Or, listen to the audio if you like because that’s what I did.

LOVED it!

“Poison Princess” is one of the most intriguing books that I have read this year. I have been utterly captivated with it. I have listened to the entire audiobook at least twice, bought it for my Kindle to study specific parts, and re-read or re-listened to some sections a half-dozen times or more. Let me repeat … UTTERLY captivated. The story was so unique, the characters were complex and richly drawn, and I loved the way the author constructed the story's timeline.

Emma Galvin, who narrates Evie’s POV in the audiobook, is too fabulous for words. This story defied my expectations on many levels, and Galvin is at least partly responsible. As a native Southerner, I am frequently annoyed by bad Southern accents from narrators. Galvin’s was great, not overdone, and she caught a few of the subtleties of Louisiana cadence. Her rendering of Jackson’s Cajun drawl, and especially the Cajun French, was AWESOME, and I have listened to those sections of the books for hours on end. Keith Nobbs, who narrated the character Arthur's POV, was appropriately creepy, and I liked that each time we switched to Nobbs' narration, I knew we were switching between past and present in the story.

I can’t wait for the next book. I thought the ending of this one was spectacular. While the story is clearly “to be continued,” and I am dying to see the reactions of every single character to the last scene of the book, it didn’t end on a “cliffhanger” in the way of some others. There were twists within twists, and we got a satisfying number of reveals, yet there is a world of story left to tell here. Kudos to the author, and the audiobook narrators, on a fantastic reading experience!

Can't wait for more

This was a great listen... I couldn't stop listening to it. I love Emma Galvin too as the narrator. She is one of my favorites. I loved how the heroin in the book starts out weak and how she grows and learns as the story unwinds, and I can tell that this is just the start of her progression. I can't wait until the next book comes out- seriously mad I have to wait. I love Jack's character as well. It is sort of frustrating that the story is only read from Evangeline's perspective and it is maddening to not know what Jack is actually thinking/feeling vs. what Evie thinks he is, but that is part of the fun too. I love a guy character with a lot of layers. It has a interesting story line and I am hooked.

Downside? Waiting for the next book!

Any additional comments?

Big fan of previous Cole books, however I was tentative to spend the bucks on a YA novel. Love the sizzle & steaminess of the Immortal Series, totally erotic. It worried me the author's departure into the Young Adult rating would kill the magic so to speak. However, the attraction & anticipation of the characters is well-placed and relatable. Poison Princess kick starts pretty quickly, and constantly has interesting new developments. Thanks to the 'Cajun', 'bad boy' hunk Jackson... this dystopian world is one any gal would gladly inhabit. Eve is young, beautiful, frustrating, naive' and faceted with a depth that other YA novels lacked. The narration was good but in the beginning chapters I was disappointed and didn't like the way Jackson's voice was portrayed by the narrator. However, it grew on me but that is probably a bigger credit to the author!

Very good!!! Great new series not just for the YA!

Would you consider the audio edition of Poison Princess to be better than the print version?

I don't read, i only listen.... and i very much enjoyed this audio book!!

What did you like best about this story?

I really like to get to know the characters and Kresley Cole is the best at character developement! I fell in love with Evie and Jack!!

Which character – as performed by Emma Galvin and Keith Nobbs – was your favorite?

Evie was performed brilliantly!! Jack was quite good too .... They were all done well and i could tell who was talking and distinguish their characters perfectly!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

at the end... i know she needed to leave us hanging... but i don't like how it went down with Jack and Evie...

Any additional comments?

I am quite fond of Kresley Cole as an author and am addicted to her adult series which is narrated by Robert Petkoff.... (can't go wrong there!) ... I do listen to some YA books and this one was very good for the genre. I do prefer a bit more adult situations... but she managed to get in some real teenage angst and some discovery as well... which is nice... i like to have the characters evolve during a story... which they all did!!

I will definitly purchase the second installment in this series when it becomes available!!